Need some advice

I work for a cluster of small community newspapers. I never took design classes in college and now have been thrust into designing. Four sports pages a week.

I really don't have time to go back to school and even audit a design course. So what I'm looking for is some good books I can read to learn something about design. I currently just look at other papers for ideas. But I'd like to really improve my designs and make the papers better.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

I found myself in a very similar situation. I chose to pay very close attention to larger papers in my area. If the So-and-so News had three stories, two pictures and a column -- and I liked the way it looked -- I made mine look pretty similar. Just until I got the hang of design and figured out "what right looked like."

My advice, from a guy who is only out of school for a few years, is read and look at as many other papers as you can.

I've tried to copy and mimic some of the better designs I've seen throughout the years. Some of mine were horrible attempts, but I learned quickly what worked and what didn't. The stuff that works, I always keep in the back of my head and pull it out when I need it. The stuff that didn't work, I forget about.

The best thing about a daily (even 4x week) is that there's always another paper tomorrow and another chance to put out something better.

It's also work checking out Poynter.org for some of their articles on layout and design, or go browse around the society of news design Web site to get info on seminars coming up or to check out their resources.